Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or small trees (0.4–)1–8(–9) m tall.

Stems: Stems prostrate to erect, pubescent, flowering branches often nodose, 1–4(–6) mm in diameter.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, distichous. Opposite. Blades elliptic, obovate, or oblanceolate, 7-30 mm. long, 4-15 mm. wide. Blades oblong, obovate, or oblanceolate to elliptic or linear, (4–)10–70(–80) mm long, (3–)5–30(–40) mm wide. Apex acute to obtuse, retuse or mucronulate. Apex rounded or obtuse, retuse, rarely mucronulate. Base cuneate or rounded. Base cuneate to obtuse, oblique. Surfaces glabrous above, villous or tomentose beneath Surfaces sometimes glaucous; upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces glabrous to pilose or villous. Margins entire. Petioles (0.5–)1–5(–6) mm long, glabrous to villous. Petioles 1-2.5 mm. long, tomentose or lanate. Stipules 1-2 mm. long, tomentose. Stipules acute to rounded–triangular, 1–4(–6) mm long, glabrous to villous, erose, ciliate.

Flowers: Cyathia solitary or in cymes on a shortened branch with 2 or 3 cyathia, the peduncles to 1 mm. long, tomentose, the involucre 1.5-2.5 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm. in diameter, tomentose, the glands tomentose. Female flower solitary, pedicellate. Flowers unisexual and highly reduced. Pistillate flowers solitary, on a gynophore; staminate flowers in 5 groups or cymules, each with 1 to several flowers. Sepals absent Petals absent Male flowers reduced to a single stamen. Pollen tricolporate, the endocolpus usually conspicuous, perforate-tectate, the intinal thickenings often small. Ovary superior; styles yellow, green, or red, bifid less than ½ to more than ½ their length, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm long, glabrous to pubescent; stigma thickened.

Fruit: Capsules green to brown; ovoid to rounded–triangular; (0.5–)2–4 mm long; glabrous to pubescent; gynophores erect; exserted 0.5–1 mm from involucre; glabrous to pubescent. Seeds 1-2 mm. long; rugose; brown or gray; tetragonal.

Ploidy: 2n = ca. 38*

Habitat: Forested regions.

Elevation Range: